Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) rescues a book from a bonfire to pursue her love of reading in 'The Book Thief.'
Jules Heath, 20th Century Fox

Written by

Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY

Nazi Germany is a challenging setting for a coming-of-age story, but that's the case with Markus Zusak's popular novel The Book Thief, which was turned into the film that opened nationwide this weekend.

The story focuses on children who unknowingly accept the daily images of Adolf Hitler's prewar Germany - from the Hitler Youth uniforms to the swastikas on the flags - as normal, even enjoyable, before learning their true nature.

"We as an audience know what the symbols and rhetoric of the time truly mean, and it's uncomfortable to see," says the film's director, Brian Percival, who is best ...